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Florida hooks a 'Horn as its football coach: Gators hire Will Muschamp

Former Texas defensive coordinator will replace Urban Meyer

Former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will be the next head coach at Florida. He will be introduced at a 6 p.m. news conference Tuesday.

Will Muschamp spent 10 years of his childhood in Gainesville and enjoyed watching Southeastern Conference football on Saturdays with his father.

He’ll soon have have a much better view: The sideline at Florida Field.

Muschamp was hired Saturday night as Urban Meyer’s successor at Florida, making the 39-year-old Texas defensive coordinator a head coach for the first time.

“This is a dream come true to be the head coach of the Florida Gators,” Muschamp said in a statement. “I grew up watching the Gators and whatever other SEC team was on television. I have great memories watching SEC football with my father on Saturdays and playing football in the backyard with my two brothers right here in Gainesville.”

Muschamp, who will be introduced at a 6 p.m. news conference Tuesday, spent the past three seasons as Texas’ defensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting to Mack Brown. The Longhorns reached the BCS national championship game last January behind a defense that led the nation in rushing (73.1 yards per game), third-down defense (26.5 percent), turnovers (37) and interceptions (25).

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said Muschamp, who spent six seasons as an assistant coach in the SEC with LSU and Auburn, was the only person he contacted about replacing Meyer, who resigned last Wednesday after six seasons and two national titles to spend more time with his family.

“We are thrilled to have coach Muschamp lead our football program,” Foley said in a statement “Coach Muschamp is someone we targeted from the beginning, and he is the guy we wanted. When we started the search for our next head coach, we wanted a coach who was familiar with the Southeastern Conference. We wanted a candidate who was a relentless recruiter and was familiar with recruiting in the state of Florida. We wanted a candidate who was high energy and had been on the big stage. We wanted a candidate who was respected by his players and his peers, and we wanted someone who had a passion for the University of Florida.

“Coach Muschamp is all of those things and more. He is a grounded family man with a wonderful wife and two children, and we welcome them into our Gator family.”

So, apparently, do some former and current players.

“Welcome to the Gator family Coach Muschamp!” former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow tweeted. “You’ll soon find out why it’s great to be a Florida Gator!”

There are unconfirmed reports that Muschamp will bring Major Applewhite with him from Texas to be offensive coordinator. Applewhite, a former Longhorns quarterback, is currently UT’s assistant head coach/running backs coach.

Muschamp has been Texas’ defensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting since 2008. He was Auburn’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 2006-07 and spent four seasons at LSU as the linebackers coach (2001) and defensive coordinator (2002-04). He spent one season as the Miami Dolphins’ assistant head coach for defense in 2005.

Muschamp also spent time as an assistant at Valdosta State, Eastern Kentucky and West Georgia. He was a graduate assistant at Auburn in 1995-96.

He has been the architect of some of the nation’s top defenses. While at LSU, his 2003 defense led the nation in scoring (11.0 ppg) and total defense (252.0 ypg) and was second in pass efficiency and third in rush defense (67.0 ypg). That helped the Tigers win the national title by beating Oklahoma.

Muschamp left with Nick Saban for the Dolphins in 2005, and Muschamp's defense ranked 15th in the NFL.

Muschamp left for Auburn the following season, and his first defense finished seventh nationally in scoring. In 2007, the Tigers ranked seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense and sixth nationally in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense.

Muschamp was born in Rome, Ga. He attended Rome High School, was a walk-on at safety Georgia and eventually earned a scholarship.

Meyer will coach the Gators in the Outback Bowl against Penn State on Jan. 1.

“Coach Muschamp is a great hire for the University of Florida,” Meyer said. “He is a relentless recruiter and brings a tremendous amount of energy and passion to the game. I would run into him on the road often on the recruiting trail and have always been impressed with him as a coach and a person.”